Chick-fil-A Could Be Landing in Apple Valley Soon

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It looks like Chick-fil-A could be winging its way to Apple Valley in the near future.

At its 7 p.m. Thursday meeting, the Apple Valley City Council will consider a conditional-use permit, as well as a site plan/building permit authorization, to build one of the chain's drive-thru restaurants at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and 153rd Street.

Thursday night's vote will be the final city action on the proposed restaurant's construction, which was unanimously approved in January by the city's planning commission.

There are already several locations of the Georgia-based restaurant chain—best known for its breaded chicken sandwiches—in Minnesota: at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and in student unions at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Construction of two other locations, in Maple Grove and Coon Rapids, has been approved.

The Chick-fil-A proposed for Apple Valley would be located at the southeast corner of the Cedar Avenue-153 Street intersection, in an outlot planned as part of the Cub Foods renovation.

According to Apple Valley Planning Commission documents, the 4,585 square-foot building would seat 106 customers and would have an outdoor seating area and a drive-thru lane.

Chick-fil-A has proposed a two-menu-board drive thru; Apple Valley’s building code allows for one board, but the Planning Commission unanimously recommended changing the ordinance to allow for Chick-fil-A's request, according to Tom Lovelace, city planner. That plan, too, comes up for a vote by the city council Thursday.

Besides its food, the restaurant is probably best known for two things: A marketing campaign featuring cows urging people to eat more chicken, and the political/social positions of its leader.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy is well known as an opponent of legalizing same-sex marriage, prompting howls of outrage from gay rights supporters and calls for support from religious conservatives around the country. Last year, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino vowed to block the chain from opening an outlet in his city.

"In recent days you said Chick-fil-A opposes same-sex marriage and said the generation that supports it has an 'arrogant attitude,' " Menino wrote to Cathy. "Here in Boston, to borrow your own words, we are 'guilty as charged.' We are indeed full of pride for our support of same-sex marriage and our work to expand freedom to all people."

So far, no such debate has arisen in Apple Valley. The planning commission simply deals with land-use issues, Lovelace said.